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“Yerelina” is a 135 acre (54 Hectare) property situated in the Adelaide Hills about 10km south of Meadows. It has a high annual rainfall of around 800mm in average years, mostly falling in the cooler winter months, followed by good spring growth and hot summers (typically a Mediterranean style climate). We, Ruth and Steve, purchased the property as vacant land in 2002, named it “Yerelina” and have since built a comfortable four bedroomed home. As it was fenced to only one paddock, we have completed about 4 kms of internal fencing. The property is established along organic and permaculture principles. We run cattle, sheep, chickens, have established a 200 fruit tree orchard with 300metres of raspberries and have planted well in excess of 1,000 native trees and shrubs. Around a quarter of the property is native scrub and the remainder mostly grazing land. In late spring we harvest our hay paddocks for feed to carry the stock through the summer months. Ruth adopted the name “Yerelina” for our property. The original Yerelina in the northern Flinders Ranges impressed her when we passed through some twenty years ago. Yerelina homestead is no longer within the original sheep station holding but is now part of the Mt Freeling run. To come across the ruins of Yerelina in a remote part of Australia, to sit and image how life must have been in primitive living conditions relative to what we enjoy today, left her with a lasting impression.
We recently joined WWOOF Australia (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) as a host after hearing about the experiences of our neighbours. We look forward to sharing our farming experiences with others, as well as providing an insight into the rural Australian way of life. |
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